I’m Taking Myself Out Of My Fashion Comfort Zone

Black jeans, black boots and some kind of oversized jumper – this is my uniform. It’s my go-to, my favourite, my always-will-be-seen-in. But sometimes your sartorial comfort zone can become your fashion rut, and it’s always nice to take a few risks and rediscover your personal style when things start to become stale.

Now if you’re anything like me, chances are that you will see something whilst browsing the web or perusing the shops and you’ll think “omg I love that! But wait, is that really my style? Can I really wear that? Am I just buying it for the sake of it?” This happens to me all the time, and despite that initial ‘in love’ moment, I end up ignoring pieces I really like and opting for safer, less exciting options that I know will slot easily into my wardrobe. Problem is, this makes getting dressed in the morning that little bit less exciting. Sure, I will never abandon my knitwear, skinny jeans and boots combo because I love the way it looks and it’s effortlessly stylish, but there are days when I would love to pick something out of my wardrobe and feel excited to wear it.

This is where this blouse and hat come in. In the grand scheme of things they’re hardly daring items, but they’re certainly things I would have thought twice about before adding to my basket. The blouse for example – as soon as I saw it, I loved it. I love the neck detailing, the floaty shape, the ode to Prairie Girl style, but as a definite move away from my usually more structured or tailored looks, I did wonder whether I might look like a bit of a prat. Similarly with the hat – SO many girls can pull off boater hats with effortless grace, but was I going to be one of them?

Then came the moment – just fuck it. If I like it, I’m going to buy it and wear it and be excited about doing so. Just before I wrote this post I was emailing a brand rep who wanted to collaborate on a new campaign, and she asked me to browse the site to see if there was anything I liked. I did the usual – go straight to knitwear. But then I saw a to-die-for printed (!!!!) maxi dress, and I knew I had to go for it. So if there’s anything we should be doing this S/S guys and gals, it’s taking more sartorial risks and injecting the excitement back into our wardrobes. If anything, it’s a good excuse to go shopping, right?